These three days in May are often cool, and have traditionally been named after three saints, the “three cold men”: Saints Servacij, Pankracij, and Bonifacij. These three cold men are followed by a rainy day, the “wet woman,” Saint Zofka. True to tradition, today is indeed cool, and also wet!
In the morning, we met with Natasha Svetina, who led us on a brief tour of the University of Ljubljana main administration building. The former home to the regional parliament, the building is very ornate and formal, not at all like Memorial Hall.
Then we had our first Slovene language class in a computer lab that had formerly been a councilor’s chambers.
In the afternoon, we saw a very different educational experience. First we heard a lecture about the history of Slovene schools at the Slovene School Museum. The second part of the tour was a re-created Slovene classroom from around 1906, complete with small chalk blackboards for each student, severe discipline, and even an instrument of corporal punishment. A box of dried corn kernels was placed in the corner. If students got out of hand, they had to kneel in the box…very painful. Ask Noah.
